Is your go-to-market organisation working effectively to drive growth?
Nick Widdowson • February 19, 2021
BASE® Brands was born out of the insight that major brand owners and organisations of scale struggle to efficiently pull together, surface, activate and measure all the elements of their go-to-market plan in one place.
The problem facing large organisations
The reality is frustration, inefficiency, delayed decision-making and often a lack of corporate history. More time is spent pulling data together than working on it, there’s a whole heap of re-work, the information is out of date the moment it is collated and there are often inconsistences in the data limiting its usefulness in planning and subsequent measurement.
The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated the trend of regular budget revision, zero-based budgeting, cost cutting and refocused pressure on operational efficiencies. Whilst there may well be pockets of best practice, digital transformation is proven to enable teams to work together in new ways to address problems like these. More than ever before, there is a need for greater alignment, better choices and more accountability for performance.
Are you aligning your plans effectively?
- Consider the advantages of aligning your go to market plan for a new product launch
- Do you know when a new product is due to land on-shelf?
- Is the NPD aligned to the implementation of a range review or range update?
- When does the above-the-line plan break, before or after distribution targets have been achieved?
- When does the promotion start?
- When is the shopper activation going live, is it supporting a promotion to drive trial?
- Does the shopper activation plan complement and enhance the TV, Digital and Print activity, to drive conversion?
If you don’t have that alignment, then you could be missing out.
What’s the alternative?
Imagine if you had:
- a single place to access plans, budgets and spend … what’s planned, what’s committed, what’s left unspent and what could be pulled back or reallocated elsewhere – by investment choice, by channel, by customer, by category and brand.
- data always up to date and accessible to the right people (based on permissions) at the touch of a button
- historical activity stored securely to enable subsequent analytics and power better choices
- each activity measured to enable continuous learning
- results aggregated to drive insight to inform future investment choices
The Single Source of Truth
BASE® Brands creates a single source of truth for all internal or agency partners to lay down, align and maintain all the sales, category, shopper and marketing activation plans in one place, surfaced and updated at the touch of button. This enables better decision making, powers consistent and robust measurement, supports best practice sharing and drives significant efficiency as well as ROI improvements.
Using BASE® Brands has led to significant improvements in overall ROI as clients have reduced investment in inefficient touchpoints, invested in the right ones to support their brand and customer objectives and better aligned their whole go-to-market execution across previously disconnected departments.
Organisations leverage our solution to simplify for effectiveness and efficiency, delivering digital transformation by learning and sharing what works, driving consistency of operation across the enterprise and growing capability as well as ROI.
How can we help you?
Our experienced Team of Senior FMCG Sales and Marketing professionals at BASE® Technologies would be delighted to help in any way we can. Our solution suite includes Consultancy, Training, Planning software and Analytics. If you’re thinking about embarking on tackling this area … or feel your company could benefit from learning more, we’d be happy to explore how we can help.
Latest News from BASE
In May 2002, the Financial Times declared, “Supermarkets Get The Message,” recognizing the growing synergy between retailers and advertisers targeting the same consumers. The article highlighted a simple but powerful idea—the best time to influence shoppers is while they shop. Fast forward to today, and retail media has evolved into a central pillar of marketing strategy, with a particular focus on digital media networks . With retail media spend expected to reach £121 billion by the end of 2024 and forecasts predicting that retail media will surpass broadcast TV by 2025, it’s no surprise that retailers are heavily investing in media networks. The rapid expansion of digital media networks presents both opportunities and challenges for shopper marketers tasked with stretching limited budgets across countless touchpoints. The good news? Behavioural science and shopper psychology offer clear guidance on how to cut through the noise and make the most of these investments. Behavioural Science: Understanding Shopper Attention Research shows that shoppers encounter a flood of messages on a typical shopping trip. Many of these messages go unnoticed, as shoppers are focused on their tasks and have limited attention to spare. Digital media networks offer a way to break through the clutter, but success depends on understanding how shoppers process information. Shopper psychology, including insights from Paco Underhill’s work, emphasizes the importance of seeing the world from the shopper’s perspective. At every point in the shopper journey, marketers must ask: What is the shopper thinking or feeling? and What do we want them to think or feel? Carefully planned touchpoints aligned with the shopper’s journey can transform moments of distraction into moments of engagement. Screen Placement: Why Visibility Matters A key rule in digital media: if it’s not seen, it’s wasted investment. Humans cannot read with their peripheral vision, so screen placement is critical. Screens must be positioned within the shopper’s direct line of sight to maximize visibility. Research shows that shoppers viewpoint-of-sale materials for just a second or two—barely enough time to register a message. Poorly positioned screens risk delivering blurred, ineffective impressions. When screens are well-placed, they can drive familiarity through the mere exposure effect, priming shoppers to recognize and recall messages. However, if the message appears too early in the shopper journey, it may be forgotten by the time they reach the relevant category—unless the product is immediately within reach when the screen captures their attention. Motion and Simplicity: Keys to Capturing Attention Digital media has one major advantage over static displays: motion . Our brains are wired to prioritize moving objects, triggering the fight-or-flight response and capturing attention. But grabbing attention is only half the battle. The message must be: Simple and clear enough to understand within 1-2 seconds . Designed with a compelling call to action that aligns with the shopper’s current position in their journey. Unlike television, digital screens in-store are fleeting touchpoints. The content must focus on minimal text, bold visuals, and a shopper-centric message that drives action. Test, Learn, and Evolve As digital media networks continue to grow, brands should treat them as valuable, long-term shopper touchpoints. Testing and learning what works—and what doesn’t—is essential for optimizing future investments. Digital screens can amplify brand presence, inspire shoppers, and enhance engagement in an increasingly competitive retail environment. Want to drive better engagement with your shopper marketing investment? Contact BASE to see how we can help you manage, measure, and maximise the impact of your digital media strategy.
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Whether the objective is launching NPD, activating partnerships, creating new consumption occasions or seeking to articulate your brand’s unique benefits, delivering integrated Go-To-Market execution is Nirvana
